I have to apologize for being so remiss. I had a lot of posts I wanted to do for Christmas, but due to my hand surgery, typing has been really rough and painful the past few weeks. However, I did want to share with you one of my favorite Christmas stories. I thought of this when a couple of weeks ago Bob and Sheri, on their morning radio show, asked listeners to call in and chat about the best Christmas present they ever gave. This made me think of the best present I ever received:
When I was little my parents, 2 older brothers and I used to travel "down home" to North Carolina a few times a year; but the most special time was always for Christmas vacation. It was good to see the aunts, uncles, cousins but especially my grandparents.
My grandparents weren't rich: granddaddy was a tobacco farmer, grandma was a seamstress and they lived on a little farm in Chowan County. But when it came to love: that's where their richness came from.
So: I'm a little girl and of course every kid looked forward to their presents on Christmas. My parents would smuggle our gifts down there so "Santa" would arrive. But my grandparents didn't have the money to buy Santa gifts. However, my grandma always made the grandkids an outfit each for a gift, and we were young enough to enjoy it and wear it.
But that wasn't the best gift. Even the "Santa" gifts weren't the best gifts. Nope: the BEST gift we'd receive from grandma was always the same every year. And if anyone was forgotten or she miscounted: the neglected one would be heartbroken until they received one.
What was this magical, mystical, fought-over gift that we coveted each year? Believe it or not, it was a little brown paper bag. Inside would be...an apple, an orange, some pecans, almonds,brazils and walnuts in the shell and some hard filled Christmas candy: like Brach's used to make. Granted, sometimes the candy would be sticky and stick to the fruit but we didn't care! It came from grandma's heart. We would eat that fruit and in my case have someone shell the nuts and I'd be soo happy! We looked forward to that little paper bag all year.
Even now I really love those little brown lunch bags that parents used to pack their kids' school lunches in. I smile when I see a pack of them on the bottom shelf of the supermarket. I love Brazil nuts, almonds and walnuts, And I love my grandparents.
They've been gone for many years now, but each Christmas I always take a moment and remember them and that little bag of love.
May your days be merry and bright...
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